Judge Tosses Lawsuit By Jan. 6 FBI Agents Who Fear Reprisal by Trump

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Huff Post

Jul 17, 2025, 07:48 PM EDT | Updated 8 hours ago


In a move that many worry will open a door to public reprisal by President Donald Trump and potentially spark violence from his allies, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop the administration from publicly naming FBI agents who investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“They do not plausibly allege that Defendants are about to engage in any of the conduct agents are worried about,” wrote U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden.

Emil Bove, Trump’s onetime personal lawyer-turned-deputy attorney general, demanded the FBI turn over names of agents who had investigated Jan. 6 and compiled the list of roughly 5,000 names in February. Bove, whose nomination to a lifetime appointment as a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals advanced on Thursday, claimed this spring that the request aligned with Trump’s executive order vowing to end the political “weaponization” of the federal government, but it was narrowly tailored to those who had investigated Jan. 6 rather than an agency-wide review sussing out any potential ethical or legal violations.

FBI agents swiftly sued in federal court to keep the list from going public, arguing having their names released would endanger them.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/judge-tosses-lawsuit-jan-6-fbi-agents_n_6830c158e4b0ca4a5f5681ce

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Link to RULING (PDF) - https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2025/07/17/68798946e4b06b3f48aa57de.pdf

REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143387659
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143388695
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143388711
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143390537
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143391247

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Certain that the FBI plaintiffs are furiously backing up their files,

getting ready for the inevitable.

Revenge works both ways.

[tinymontgomery]

10. I would be getting ready to release

any files I could about this administration. Lots of reporters out there they would like to get their hands on them.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Yeah, those prosecutors shouldn't worry about secrecy like ICE does. /nt

[atreides1]

3. Judges are not very bright

“They do not plausibly allege that Defendants are about to engage in any of the conduct agents are worried about,”

I guess when she's not sitting in her office she keeps her head buried in the sand...the writing on the wall is obvious, these FBI agents are now fucked!

At some point Trump is going to go after the judges...

[Irish_Dem]

4. The judges aren't stupid. They agree with fascist rule and the destruction of democracy.

And the end of the US constitution.

They refuse to honor their oaths and training.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. This is one of those "technicalities" that a bunch of these lawsuits have run into

where the judge says "It hasn't happened yet so you haven't been harmed".

Many of the early suits that were filed right after 45 signed his big pile of E.O.s, were thrown out because they hadn't gone into effect yet.

I suppose in the extreme for a reason why is that someone could say - "I'm going to beat the shit out of you" - and you file suit and a judge says - "It's just blowing off steam" (although I know there are laws about "threats" but I expect a suit using those laws need to meet certain criteria).

[moniss]

5. So Bondi and Nutjob Noem claim

that the ICE agents identities have to be hidden because Federal agents must be protected but out of the other side of their mouth they claim exposure of these FBI agents is no problem. The sad thing is that this judge would make such a ludicrous statement because it is well known what they are going to do. They have been very vocal about saying they were going to "expose" the ones who investigated 1/6. It is also well known what they have been about with going after others and those people can give a long list of the death threats they get etc.

This judge is pretending not to know any of that. Therefore the ruling is akin to a judge saying in a case that although it is known that the sun will rise tomorrow the case is dismissed because the plaintiffs have provided no proof it will rise. I've seen cases like this where kangaroo decisions get made with pretzel logic, parsing understood meanings for words into oblivion, taking a judicial philosophy that the courts are to react to harm done and only rarely act to prevent harm etc.

A garbage decision that should be appealed and we can mark it up as one more judge cowering in their robes.

[hadEnuf]

7. "Could potentially spark violence from (Trump's) allies".

It always boils down to this. The country is being held hostage by armed to the teeth MAGA gun nuts. We rely on the courts, government and the law, which is the way it's supposed to be, but we have no other deterrent that is spoken or unspoken to deal with these animals.

They need to know that any violence they perpetrate will cost them dearly.

[Figarosmom]

8. This should then be used against

ICE and their reasons for wearing masks. Of course the the judges will say that the left does show signs of doing and falsely claim as in this decision that the right shows no tendency to do so.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

9. Biden appointed judge.

All the legal battles give me the willies.

[58Sunliner]

11. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb-Fuck you.

[twodogsbarking]

12. I think we are in trouble.